


Fly Away

by soul_writerr



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Crack Treated Seriously, Flirting, Fluff, Getting Together, Humor, M/M, Protectiveness, Slow Dancing, Superheroes, Superpowers, Threats of Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-11
Updated: 2020-11-11
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:33:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27507664
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soul_writerr/pseuds/soul_writerr
Summary: Sonny is a superhero and Rafael keeps needing to be saved.
Relationships: Rafael Barba/Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr.
Comments: 23
Kudos: 55





	Fly Away

**Author's Note:**

> I had this idea last night and challenged myself to write the whole thing in one sitting. Two and a half hours later, here we are! 
> 
> I hope you enjoy it <3

“Let me tell you how we’re going to do this, Mr. Barba,” Felipe Heredio said, pushing the gun tighter against Rafael’s side as they walked in a brisk pace. “Don’t scream and maybe I won’t shoot you in front of all these people.”

Rafael couldn’t help the grim smile that spread across his face. “You want to kill an ADA in front of all these witnesses? Not your brightest idea, _amiguito_.” 

“I _don’t_ want to kill you here,” he said. “I have this special place in mind.”

“Ah. I can’t wait to see it.” 

Unsurprisingly and in a very cliche turn of Rafael’s evening, Heredio led him into a side alley a couple blocks down from the DA’s office. He knew that the death threats he’d received hadn’t sounded like empty promises this time, but he’d hoped for a better way to go than taking a bullet and being left at the back of a random building.

“I thought you said _special_ ,” Rafael said dryly, looking around with an unimpressed arch of his eyebrow. 

Heredio pushed him deep into the alley, into the soft shadows of the sunset. Rafael was sweating under his collar, but he held his own even as his potential murderer spun him around and pointed a gun to his chest. 

Rafael found, in that moment, that thinking of what to make his last words was much harder than he thought, so he didn’t say anything. 

He guessed Heredio would have a whole villain speech planned out about how Rafael had brought this upon himself, but he never got to hear it. One minute Rafael was staring at a gun, the next there was a loud whooshing of air around him and Heredio was down, the gun kicked far away from his body, and Rafael met the brightest pair of blue eyes he’d ever seen.

Of course he knew this man. Rafael had seen his face everywhere; on the news, on magazines, on the newspaper, on _billboards_. The face of American hope, the face of justice, and what a pretty face it was indeed. 

“Are you alright?,” he asked, all worry, brows knitted together as he checked Rafael over with an appraising glance. 

And Rafael couldn’t help but check him, too. After all, it wasn’t everyday that he saw 6 feet of man encased in tight blue latex, a cape and all. There was a big S stitched across his chest and he was wearing red boots up to his knees, too. Rafael could see every single muscle twist and tighten as he held Heredio down. 

“I’m fine,” Rafael said. “Your timing is excellent.”

“I have to take him in,” Sonny said. “Are you going to be okay getting home?”

“Take him to the 16th Precinct, Captain Benson has been looking for him,” Rafael pulled out his phone. “I’m going back to the DA’s office.” 

Sonny nodded, pulling Heredio to his feet with one hand. The man yelped inelegantly as he tried to find his footing, and Rafael had the fleeting thought that he looked much smaller now without his gun and being held in place by a superhero. 

“Call me if you need anything.”

Rafael lifted an eyebrow at him. “Call you? I don’t have your number.”

Sonny let out a mild laugh, his eyes squinting with it. “You don’t need my number.”

With that, he tightened his hold on Heredio and then he was gone, up and away in a blur of blue and red, Heredio’s yell getting lost in the air as Sonny took him along for the ride. 

“Right,” Rafael huffed.

He brushed his suit off and stepped out of the alley with his head held high. 

Rafael made his way back to his office without getting sidetracked this time, and the whole while he kept looking up at the sky, hoping to catch a glimpse of another shade of blue.

* * *

The next time Sonny came swooping into his life, it was Rafael’s fault. He’d had his head in his phone the whole morning, moving between the courthouse, his office and the precinct and sending off emails and case files to junior ADAs, reviewing precedents, trying to hold off on a deal with Buchanan while simultaneously fishing for a better offer from Calhoun.

So of course he wasn’t paying attention to traffic lights, and when Rafael looked up from the screen it was too late. There was a bus coming down the street, too fast to break on time, and Rafael gasped, frozen in the middle of the crosswalk, well aware that he wouldn’t make it to the other side. 

He heard the tires squealing, people on the other side of the street yelling at the bus driver, telling him to stop, and Rafael prayed to a God he wasn’t even sure existed. 

A second later his feet were off the ground and he felt like he weighed nothing, it felt like he was simply floating in the air. Rafael wondered if this was it, if it was all over.

Except Rafael wasn’t floating, he was _flying_. 

Rafael opened his eyes to see Sonny, a soft smile on his face as he held Rafael in his arms like he was a damsel in distress. 

“You again,” Rafael said, half breathless and half embarrassed.

Sonny’s smile widened. “I told you to call me.” 

“Excuse me if I was a little busy almost dying.” 

“Fair enough,” he chuckled. 

Rafael looked around, trying to find out where he was, but he could only see white clouds and the ongoing blue sky. 

“Don’t look down,” Sonny warned him.

He looked down and immediately regretted it, throwing both his arms around Sonny’s neck in a panic. New York looked like a toy town under them, tiny squares that made the buildings and skyscrapers he knew so well.

“Can you put me down?,” Rafael asked, sounding a little strangled.

“We’re almost there,” Sonny said calmly.

Rafael swallowed hard, and because there was nothing else to look at, he took in the details of Sonny’s face. They were so close he could see how long his lashes were, how they looked so blond while Sonny’s hair had a fascinating mix of gold and silver strands, especially around his temple.

His lips were plush and pink, almost unnaturally so. But then again, there was nothing natural about their current situation. The spark in Sonny’s eyes couldn’t be natural the same way his superhuman strength wasn’t. Or the fact that they were _flying,_ thousands of miles from the ground, and Rafael had never felt safer. 

No, it wasn’t natural at all. 

“Would you like to stay at the courthouse or the DA’s office?,” Sonny asked, unbothered by Rafael’s staring. 

“The DA’s office is good,” he said, and they started to lose altitude.

The blue sky broke away and turned to grey as they approached the tall buildings in Manhattan and the fast descent made Rafael’s ear pop. 

Even when his feet touched the ground again, Rafael felt like he was still floating away in a bubble. Sonny kept a hold on him as he tried to stand despite his shaky legs, helping him stay upright with a sympathetic smile. 

“There we go,” Sonny said softly. “You good?"

“Yeah, yes,” Rafael tried to sound confident even though he didn’t really trust his feet yet. “Thank you for the ride. And for saving me from being squashed by a bus.”

“No problem, Counselor. But do pay attention to traffic signs, please?,” he asked, all wide eyed and innocent. 

“Okay,” he chuckled. “I’ll try not to need you to save me anymore.”

Sonny waved a hand. “I don’t mind. You’ve got important work to do, we can’t lose you.”

Rafael looked at him suspiciously. “How do you know?”

“Well, the first time I saved you and took that guy into the 16th precinct Captain Benson had a few things to say about you,” Sonny said, his cheeks turning as pink as his lips. “All great things.”

“I bet,” he teased. Rafael was about to ask for details of that encounter when his phone started ringing. He noticed he’d been clutching it really tight the entire time. “Speak of the devil.”

Sonny nodded. “Duty calls. I’ll leave you to it.”

“Thank you again, Sonny,” he said, sincere.

Sonny shot him one last smile before he was off again. 

“Olivia,” Rafael greeted with a smirk as he answered the call, watching the superhero fly away. “I have to ask you something.”

* * *

Rafael hadn’t expected to see Sonny again for a very long time. He’d been very mindful of traffic lights and signs and all his death threats were back to its meaningless, vague accusations and empty promises that never went past wanting to intimidate him. 

He’d been living a risk-free life, so the superhero had no reason to come to him anymore. A part of Rafael couldn’t help but think of what a shame that was. There was something about the other man that fascinated him, an energy that drew him in. 

It wasn’t particularly the superpowers thing, that was old news. It had to do with the mystery of where Sonny went when he wasn’t saving people. Did he have someone waiting for him at home? Were they as remarkable as Sonny himself? 

Rafael couldn’t help but wonder if the man had any more interests other than flying around to save mindless ADAs who walked into traffic or got threatened by gangs. 

So Rafael certainly wasn’t expecting to see him _here,_ of all places. But the crowd parted and there he was, standing in a beautiful suit this time, smiling broadly as his eyes met Rafael’s and he approached him with quick strides of his long legs. 

“Counselor,” he greeted, easy and smooth.

“Here to save me from what’s bound to be an incredibly boring night, Sonny?,” Rafael teased, gesturing around them.

Everyone at the gala was dressed to the nines, but they all looked like they’d shoved sticks up their asses. It annoyed Rafael to no end to see ADAs who’d never shown an ounce of dignity act self-important around the DA and the mayor in nights like this.

Sonny’s smile grew even more, his dimples deepening. “I’d be honored,” he said, then offered Rafael a hand. “How about a dance?”

Rafael tilted his head, holding back his answering grin. “People will talk.”

“They always do,” he shrugged. “At least this time it’d be worth it.”

“Do your worse,” Rafael said with a single nod, and took his hand.

Sonny led him to the center of the room with no hesitation, taking on the leading position when he turned to Rafael again, eyes bright. 

Rafael let him, placing his other hand on Sonny’s shoulder and allowing himself to be pulled in by the arm around his waist. 

The room was quieter as a song ended and another started just as they got in the right positions to follow their steps. Sonny never took his eyes off of Rafael, and they started moving seamlessly with the new song.

“I never thought I’d see you out of your latex uniform,” Rafael said conversationally. 

Sonny laughed. “That’s mostly for flying. The cape helps with the aerodynamics.” 

“So what? You took an Uber?”

“The DA sent a car.”

Rafael smirked. “Ah. Guest of honor.”

“It’s all for show and status, you know that. You hate these things just as much as I do.”

“But I know why I came,” Rafael said, the two of them never falling out of step. “I work for the DA. You don’t. Then why are you here?”

Sonny’s eyes had never left his as they spoke, but they flicked with something different for a moment. 

“I guessed you’d be here,” Sonny said, voice low. “You might not need my assistance as of now, but I wanted to see you again. So I came.”

“You guessed right,” he replied, leaning closer to the other man. The height difference between the two of them became more obvious then. “And I’m glad you’re here.”

Sonny’s eyelashes fluttered prettily. “Yeah?”

“I haven’t thanked you properly for saving me. _Twice_ ,” Rafael said, the hand on Sonny’s shoulder sliding down to his chest. “What are you doing after this?”

Sonny swallowed hard, Rafael could see his Adam’s Apple moving with it. He ducked his head forward, his lips to Rafael’s ear. 

“I’m taking you home,” he said, and Rafael was thankful for the arm around his waist tightening then, otherwise he would have lost control of his feet and stepped on Sonny’s toes.

“Promise?,” Rafael whispered between them.

“I promise,” Sonny said with a lopsided smile.

But the night was still young and the DA had about one or two speeches in his pocket, before and after dinner was served, so for now Rafael laid his head on Sonny’s shoulder and let him lead him wherever he wanted, going from one song to the other without missing a beat. 

Rafael knew what the headlines would be the following morning and he’d have to explain a thing or two to the DA himself, and he’d most definitely get texts from Rita and Olivia, but in that moment the only thing Rafael was thinking about was Sonny and the night ahead.

* * *

“You’re gonna regret this,” Rafael said as he was pushed into a car urgently. 

“Shut up,” the man on the front seat said. “I’m not afraid of you.”

“Well, it’s not _me_ you should be scared of.”

The guy that was sitting beside him pushed a knife closer to him, pressing it against his skin. “You really think anyone is coming to save you?”

“I don’t _think_ ,” he spat with a scowl. “I know.” 

As if on cue, the driver hit the throttle only for the car to jump forward then stop. The guy beside him made a confused noise, looking around, and a loud bang on the roof made the driver jump. Rafael smiled.

“There he is,” Rafael said.

“What the hell,” the driver yelped, alarmed, putting the car on drive again and pushing the pedal repeatedly. 

“What was that?,” the guy with the knife said, looking up to the mark left on the roof. “What are you waiting for, Stick? Drive the fucking car!”

The driver, _Stick_ , was now just pulling at the steering wheel uselessly. “I’m trying, it’s not working!”

Both of Rafael’s kidnappers saw him at the same time, floating in front of the car with what Rafael could only describe as an absolutely _livid_ expression, holding the wires he’d ripped from the car in his hands. Rafael’s smile grew. 

“How did he get here so fast?,” the guy beside him asked, now angry.

“It’s like he’s got a sixth sense or something,” Rafael joked, then winced when the sharp edge of the knife nicked his skin. 

Sonny must have seen it, because he threw the wires on the ground and jumped towards the car, pulling the doors completely off and throwing them behind himself. He grabbed the driver first, tying his hands and feet together in such a fluid motion Rafael almost missed it. 

The man beside him thought it was a good idea to step out of the car while holding Rafael at knife point, but it only served to further enrage Sonny. 

“I’m only going to ask you once,” Sonny said, voice cold as steel. “Drop the knife and step away from him.”

The man let out a humourless laugh, shaking his head. “Are you joking? He’s my ticket out of here. _You_ step away and I won’t hurt the guy, how about that?”

Rafael chuckled. “Wrong answer, buddy.”

In a blink, Sonny had shot off from the ground, going directly towards the man like a missile, knocking him out before he even hit the ground. The knife flew away from his hand, and Sonny took it before tying him up as well.

From a distance, Rafael could already hear the sirens coming.

Making sure that neither men were going anywhere, Sonny left them and went to Rafael, taking him in his arms, running his hands over him frantically, pulling his shirt away to see where he’d been hurt.

“I’m fine, Sonny,” Rafael reassured him, but allowed him to continue his throughout check. “I barely felt it, it’s fine. A band aid should fix it.”

“They shouldn’t even have touched you,” Sonny huffed. “I told you not to ignore those weird texts.”

Rafael shrugged. “You’ve made me way too overconfident. I knew you’d show up.”

“Of course,” Sonny said, holding Rafael’s face in his hands. “I’ll always come save you, Raf.”

“I know,” he turned his head to kiss Sonny’s palm. “Now take me home.”

Rafael let Sonny take him in his arms and closed his eyes for a moment, the wind blowing over them as they ascended. He wrapped his arms around Sonny’s neck the way he’d done that first time, and he felt just as safe as he had then.

“What should we have for dinner?,” Sonny asked. 

“I’m thinking pancakes,” Rafael said. “With every topping we can find in the house.”

Sonny smiled, nodding. “I like the way you think, Counselor.” 

Rafael pressed a kiss on his cheek. “Thank you for saving me, Sonny.”

“I always will,” he repeated. “But, for my sake, we’re getting you a protective detail next time.” 

Rafael grunted. “I have several arguments against that.”

“I’m sure you do,” he chuckled.

“It’s your choice whether you want to have to listen to every single one of them or if you want to drop that subject right now.”

“Please, Raf, you know I love to hear you argue,” Sonny grinned.

“You’re insufferable,” he rolled his eyes.

“I know,” he pressed a kiss to Rafael’s hair. “But it’s only because I love you.”

Rafael snuggled closer to his chest. “I love you, too,” he said softly, laying his head on Sonny’s shoulder. “Let’s just go home.”

Sonny picked up more speed, cape flying fast behind him. “Let’s go home.”

**Author's Note:**

> I tried to think of a superhero name for Sonny but every idea I had made me cringer REALLY bad lmao so have you got any suggestions?? Sound off below! <3 
> 
> Let me know if you enjoy Rafael and his super boyfriend lmao and would you look at that, this is my 99th fic


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